Roofing



Feb. 1, 1966 D. M. GlLLlS 3,232,020

ROOFING Filed April 16, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,DaA/Aw M (FALL/5;

INVENTOR.

267592225, 14 0/, Ru l: KERM Feb. 1, 1966 D. M. GILLIS 3,232,020

ROOFING Filed April 16, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 flan/440 A1. 671.1 15;

INVENTOR.

03m; /E;//, 190555444 May United States Patent 3,232,020 ROOFING DonaldM. Gillis, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor of fortynine percent to SamGreenebaum, Los Angeles County,

Calif.

Filed Apr. 16, 1962, Ser. No. 187,594 1 Claim. (Cl. 52-409) Thisinvention relates to roofing and, more particularly, provides animproved shake shingle roof and a shake shingle panel that facilitatesthe laying of such roof and lessens fire hazard.

Roofs formed of shake shingles typically have a double thickness ofshingles plus a five inch head lap in the instance of the conventionaltwenty-five inch long shingle, there being only a ten inch exposure ofeach shingle. Shake shingles come in varying widths, with one end of theshake being somewhat thicker than the other, giving a general wedgelikeappearance. Shakes are much thicker than the ordinary shingle, beingapproximately to 1% inch at the thick end and about inch at the thinend, and are widely used on more expensive homes, primarily because ofthe desirable rustic appearance presented by a roof shingle with them.

Shakes, being of wood, carry a much higher insurance rate than theso-called label class roofings such as tile and certain compositionshingles.

It is, therefore, a primary, object to provide a shake roof and a shakeshingle panelthat will reduce fire hazard.

It is a further object to provide a shake type roofing requiring lessmaterial and including a plurality of prefabricated roof panels, each ofthe panels including an elongated metal pan and a course of shingles onthe upper side thereof with a longitudinal edge of the pan preferablybeing turned up and over to provide a flange overlying one edge of theshingle course. The panels are laid in rows at substantially a rightangle to the roof pitch with the panels of an upper row overlapping theupper longitudinal edges of the panels of the row immediately below.

Shake shingles. are for the most part produced by small mill operatorswith no quality control being imposed. As a result, it is not uncommonto have or so of the shakes prove unuseable at the construction site. Itwould be desirable to improve the present manner of manufacture andmarketing to obtain accurate grading of the shingles at the mill siteand, thus eliminate the wastage now commonly incurred.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a shake shinglepanel which is preferably prefabricated at the mill site and which panelby its nature enforces accurate grading on the mill operator to useaccurately sized shakes.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved roof havingless overlapping of shingles and which may be laid at a reduced cost. I

A still further object of the invention is to provide a roofing of theshake type having a reduced weight, thus permitting the use of a lesssubstantial supporting structure.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shake typeroofing that may be laid with less effort and time.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a shake typeroofing material having a significantly reduced transportation cost persquare foot of roof coverage.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the followingspecification and the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, partially cut 3,232,020Patented Feb. 1, 1966 of FIGfl illustrating the relative positions ofthe overlapping panels of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1,illustrating a hold down device for securing the lower ends of theshingles to the pan of the panel;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG.1, illustrating the hold down flange of one form of the panel of theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a preferred form of the pan of the panelof the invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded, perspective view of a splicer panel provided forjoining together two adjacent panels of the same course;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of still another form of thepan of the panel of the invention provided with an anchor flange alongone longitudinal edge of the panel;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of still another form of thepan of the panel of the invention having a flange with drain holesdesigned to be positioned downroof with the other longitudinal edgehaving no flange and designed to be placed uproof;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of two adjacent panels of onecourse, illustrating an inverted, elongated, U-shaped cap member forjoining together adjacent turned up transverse flanges of the twopanels;

FIG. 10 is another fragmentary perspective view of two adjoining panelsof the same course, illustrating another means for joining together thetransverse edges of the two adjacent panels; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view of a ridge pan designed tohold the shingles at the hip of the roof.

The panel of the invention comprises an elongated pan 12, preferablyformed of aluminum, having a course or layer of shake shingles 14disposed on its upper surface. In a preferred form of the panel of theinvention, the pan is made four feet long and is provided with a flange16 formed by turning up and over one longitudinal edge of the pan. Theflange 16 has an elongated recess 18 extending lengthwise of its uppersurface, this recess serving to receive the heads of nails 20 providedfor fastening the panel to the underlying sheathing 22 of the roofstructure. Somewhat shorter nails 20 than those used for fastening thepanel to the sheathing 22 may be provided for holding the shingles 14-to the flange 16 of the pan 12, the latter nails being insufficient inlength to penetrate the pan proper beneath the flange.

The panels are preferably prefabricated at the mill site by having theshingles affixed to the pans and the panels are then shipped to thebuilding site for installation. The panels may be formed in varyinglength, usually with three to eight foot pans, preferably with a fourfoot pan.

Normally four or eight shake shingles will be used to cover the uppersurface of a four foot panel pan 12, the exact number being determinedby the width of the shake shingles used. Shake shingles that are used inconventional roofs are approximately twenty-five inches long and ofvarying width, with one end of the shake being somewhat thicker than theother, giving a general wedge-like appearance. The shake shingles usedin the panel of the invention present the same general appearance as theconventional shingle but are preferably somewhat shorter, beingapproximately fifteen inches long and, in one embodiment of theinvention, having a length of approximately the same dimension as thewidth of the panel pan, as illustrated in the middle course of FIG. 1.Alternatively, the shakes may be made somewhat longer than the width ofthe panel pan 12 to provide a small overhang along the lowerlongitudinal edge of the pan, as illustrated in the upper course ofFIG. 1. The shake shingles used in the panel of the invention arepreferably to 1% inch thick at their thicker ends and usually to inchthick at their thinner ends.

Shake shingles are customarily laid with their thicker butt endsdisposed downroof. In the panels illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, thethinner edges of the shake shingles are placed beneath the flange 16and, with this arrangement, the flange 16 of the pan 12 is placeduproof. However, it is not necessary that a flange be employed in thepanel of the invention nor that it be placed on the uproof edge of thepanel. The flange 16 is a very desirable feature of the panel. Theflange serves in two roles: (1) providing means for holding the shinglesto the pan 12 without piercing the pan bottom, and (2) providing a blockor wall to the spreading of fire. Since fire tends to spread in anuproof direction, the flange 16 is preferably placed at the uprooflongitudinal edge of the panel. In the manufacture of the panel,piercing of the pan proper with nails is desirably avoided because nailholes may provide paths for entrance of water to the roofunderstructure. In some applications, it is desirable to form the flangeby simply turning the edge of the pan, there being no turning over ofthe turned up portion of the edge.

Reference to FIG. 8 will show a pan 12 provided with a flange 16adesigned to be placed downroof in the installation of the panel. It willbe noted that the uproof longitudinal edge of the pan 12 of FIG. 8 hasno flange. The flange 16a is provided with a series of holes 24 alongthe bottom edge of its upturned portion. In the panel of FIG. 8 thethicker butt end of the shake shingle is placed beneath the flange 16a.

In some embodiments it may be desirable to place a flange along each ofthe two longitudinal edges of the pan 12 as illustrated in the lowercourse of FIGS. 1 and 2. Flange 17 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) of the lowerlongitudinal edge of the pan of the lower course of FIG. 1 takes theform of an open slotted grillwork, the flange being shaped as before bybending a portion of the longitudinal edge of the pan 12 up and over.The grill flange 17 presents a desirable appearance, provides fordrainage of rainwater, and serves to hold down the lower ends of theshake shingles.

A shingle hold down or tie down device 28 is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and3. The device has an anchor portion 30 positioned beneath and in contactwith the underside of the pan 12 and a horizontally disposed bar member32 connected by a stem 34 to the anchor portion 30. The bar member 32overlies the upper surface of two adjoining shingles 14 with the stem 34extending upwardly therebetween. Rubber base or other suitable adhesivesmay be employed to hold the shingles to the pans and to bond edges ofadjacent pans together.

The preferred manner of locating the panels on a roof is best understoodwith reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 where it is seen that an upper course ofthe panels 12 overlaps the flanges 16 and the upper edges of a course ofpanels immediately below. The panels are held to the roof by the nails20 and are positioned in rows at a substantially right angle to the roofpitch. By overlapping the flanges 16 and nails 20 of the panels of thecourse below, water is prevented from leaking along the nails into theunderlying supporting structure. In one preferred manner of laying thepanels of the invention, there is approximately a three inch overlap,resulting in a twelve inch exposure of the fifteen inch wide panels. Ina conventional shake roof using twenty-five inch long shingles there isa ten inch exposure and a double coverage with a five inch overlap. Itwill be seen that the panels of the invention provide a considerableeconomy in the shake shingles and a decided reduction in weight.

The panel of FIG. 7 has the lower longitudinal edge of its pan 12 turneddown and under to provide a locking flange 38. A flange 161) along theother longitudinal edge of the pan 12 has a setup portion which isdesigned to interlock with the locking flanges 38 of the pans of thecourse above.

It is desirable that the transverse edges of adjoining panels of acourse be provided with means forestalling the passage of watertherebetween. Various means may be utilized for this purpose, includinga relatively short splicer panel 44 (see FIG. 1 and exploded view ofFIG. 6) to bridge the gap between adjoining panels 12 of a course. Thesplicer panel 44 generally resembles the regular panels with which it isused, differing in that its flange 46 has a somewhat deeper end wall 47to permit the sliding of the flanges 16 of the adjacent pans 12thereunder. The flange 46 is provided with a nail recess 48, theundersurface of which will fit into the nail recesses 18 of the adjacentpans 12. The splicer panel 44 adjacent each of its transverse edges isprovided with a depressed rain trough 50. The rain troughs 50 forestallseepage of water beneath the transverse edges of the adjoining pans 12.

In the arrangement of FIG. 9, the adjacent transverse edges of the pans12 of a course are upturned at a angle to form flanges 54 and 56respectively. An inverted, elongated U-shaped cap member 60 is placedover the two abutting flanges 54 and 56. The legs of U-shaped capmembers are preferably crimped inwardly to secure the cap in place.

Still another means for joining together adjacent pans 12 of a course isillustrated in FIG. 10 wherein one of the pans has its transverse edgeturned up at a right angle to form a flange 62. The adjacent edge of theother panel member is turned up and down to provide a U-shaped capmember 64 which is positioned over the transverse flange 62. Therespective pans 12 have depressed grooves 68 in their bottoms. Stillanother means to forestall passage of water between adjacent panels of acourse comprises providing the pan 12 of one panel with an uncoveredsegment which may be placed beneath the adjoining panel to provide anoverlap.

The ridge of the roof is preferably straddled by several ridge panels 72(FIG. 1 and 11). Each of the panels 72 has an inverted, open V-crosssection with the longitudinal edges of the pan 73 thereof being turnedup to provide flanges 74 and 76. Flanges 74 and 76 have several drainholes 78 to permit water runoff.

Although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosedherein for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that variouschanges, modifications, and substitutions may be incorporated in suchembodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined by the claim which follows:

I claim:

A roof panel comprising an elongated metal pan, a course of a pluralityof shake shingles on the upper surface thereof, said shake shinglesbeing generally rectangular and having a generally wedge-like form withone end of the shingle being significantly thicker than the other endthereof, means for holding the shingles to the metal pan, said meansincluding one longitudinal edge of the pan which is turned up and overto provide a flange overlying the thin ends of the shingles of saidcourse of shingles, said flange providing a wall to the spreading offire and said roof panel having the other longitudinal edge of said panturned down and under to provide a locking flange spaced downwardly fromsaid pan, said first-named flange having an offset edge for thereception of said spaced flange between said oflfset portion and saidshake shingles.

(References on following page) 5 References Cited by the Examiner2,730,969 1/1956 Sperry 52276 UNITED A S PA S 3,015,193 1/1962AIIIOX'USO 52546 4/1871 Hickox 52 596 3,110,130 11/ 1963 Trachtenberg52545 8/1890 Walbridge 52-599 5 FOREIGN PATENTS 8/1929 i 5253 464,7665/1950 Canada. 10/1934 W11 10ck et a1 52-470 245 195 3/1912 German2/1941 Batcheller 52468 2/1941 Kendall 52-543 6/1942 Wilde 52 540RICHARD W. COOKE, JR., Przmary Exammer. 9/1951 Anthbny 52--544 0 JACOBSHAPIRO, EARL I. WITMER, CHARLES E. 11/ 1953 OCONNELL, Examiners.

Alverez 52-3 02

